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FCC Chairman Under The Gun, Auction Crawls Along

Kevin Martin, the Federal Communications Commission chairman, is being investigated for his leadership style and the possibility that he has adversely impacted policies regarding the wireless industry. Meanwhile, the 700-MHz auction (remember that?) plods along painfully. When, oh when, will it end?

On Martin: -- The investigation is being spearheaded by the House Commerce Committee. It recently requested a truckload of documents from Martin as it looks to dive deeper into his management practices and how policy has been shaped the three years he's headed the FCC.

The House Commerce Committee already had been poking around in Martin's affairs. Now, escalating the investigation, House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.), Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), and Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) all put their John Hancock's on the official request for more info from Martin. Some of the information sought are personnel records, meeting schedules, and policies.

The letter said, in part: "These allegations relate to management practices that may adversely affect the commission's ability both to discharge effectively its statutory duties and to guard against waste, fraud, and abuse. While the sources are believed to be credible, the committee will require additional information and records to determine whether these allegations can be substantiated."

It seems some people Martin has worked with the last three years don't like him so much.

On the 700-MHz auction: -- Good grief, could someone please put this auction out of its misery already? It seemed to get off to a blazing start, with the open access provisions on the C Block being reached just days after the auction's start. But here we are, seven weeks in, and there's no end in site. The big blocks all seem to have been scooped up at this point, but several of the smaller regional blocks of spectrum continue to draw bid after bid after bid.

Enough already. If you want a slice of spectrum covering Albany, N.Y., pony up and lay down the necessary bid to stop your competition. We want to know who won the C Block. Verizon? Google? A mystery bidder? Inquiring minds want to know!

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